Chapter 3 Review Questions

Answers and explanations can be found in Chapter 13.

Section I: Multiple Choice

1. Two vectors, A and B, have the same magnitude, m,

but vector A points north whereas vector B points east.
What is the sum, A + B ?

(A) m, northeast
(B) northeast
(C) northwest
(D) 2m, northwest

2. If F1= −20ĵ, F2= −10î, and F3 = 5î + 10ĵ, what is the

sum F1 + F2 + F3 ?

(A) −15î + 10ĵ

(B) −5î − 10ĵ
(C) 5î
(D) 5î − 10ĵ

3. Both the x- and y-components of a vector are doubled.

Which of the following describes what happens to the
resulting vector?

(A) Magnitude increases by a factor of

(B) Magnitude increases by a factor of and the
direction changes.
(C) Magnitude increases by a factor of 2.
(D) Magnitude increases by a factor of 2, and the
direction changes.
4. If vectors north and south, what is
?

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

5. The magnitude of vector A is 10. Which of the

following could be the components of A ?

(A) Ax = 5, Ay = 5
(B) Ax = 6, Ay = 8

(C) Ax = 7, Ay = 9

(D) Ax = 10, Ay = 10

6. If the vector A = î − 2ĵ and the vector B = 4î − 5ĵ,

what angle does A + B form with the x-axis?

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

7. An object travels along the vector d1 = 4m î + 5m ĵ

and then along the vector d2 = 2m î − 3m ĵ. How far is
the object from where it started?

(A) 6.3 m
 (B) 8 m
(C) 10 m
(D) 14 m

8. If A = and B = , which of the following best

represents the direction of A − B ?

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

9. The x-component of vector A is −42, and the angle it

makes with the positive x-direction is 130°. What is the
y-component of vector A ?

(A) −65.3
(B) −50.1
(C) 50.1
(D) 65.3

10. If two non-zero vectors are added together, and the

resultant vector is zero, what must be true of the two
vectors?

(A) They have equal magnitude and are pointed in the

same direction.
(B) They have equal magnitude and are pointed in
opposite directions.
(C) They have different magnitudes and are pointed in
opposite directions.
 (D) It is not possible for the sum of two non-zero vectors
to be zero.

Section II: Free Response

1. Let the vectors, A, B, and C be defined by: A = 3î + 6ĵ,

B = −î + 4ĵ, and C = 5î − 2ĵ.

(a) What is the magnitude of vector A?

(b) Sketch the vector subtraction problem B − C and

find the components of the resultant vector.

(c) Find the components of A + 2B.

(d) Express A − B − C as a magnitude and angle

relative to the horizontal.

2. An ant walks 20 cm due north, 30 cm due east, and

then 14 cm northeast.

(a) Assuming that each portion of the ant’s journey is a

vector, sketch the ant’s path.

(b) How far has the ant travelled from its original
position?

(c) If the ant does not want to travel farther than 80 cm

from its original position, how march farther north
could it walk?

3. Consider an airplane taking off at an angle of 10°

relative to the horizontal. After 2 s, the airplane has
travelled a total of 140 m through the air.

(a) Express the position, p, of the airplane compared

with the point of liftoff as a vector using components
 and the î and ĵ basis vectors.

(b) If the airplane had been taking off in a headwind, the

position of the airplane would instead have been p′ =
p + w, in which the impact of the wind, w, is the
vector w = −30î. Draw a sketch to show the
relationship between the vectors p′, p, and w.

(c) What angle would the plane make with the horizontal
as a result of the headwind after 2 s?

4. As a boat travels in a river, its velocity, v, is determined

by the current, c, and its relative velocity compared to
the water, r. For instance, at one point in the boat’s
journey, these vectors are related in the following way:

(a) Write a vector equation that shows how v is related

to c and r.

(b) If the angle between v and c is 90°, as shown, write

an equation for the magnitude of v as a function of c
and r.

(c) At a different point in the boat’s journey, if the

current is flowing due east at 5 m/s and the boat
wants to travel due south at 10 m/s, what should the
captain set its relative velocity to be (magnitude and
direction)?